The body includes various passageways such as arteries, other blood vessels, and other body lumens. These passageways sometimes become occluded or weakened. For example, the passageways can be occluded by a tumor, restricted by plaque, or weakened by an aneurysm. When this occurs, the passageway can be reopened or reinforced, or even replaced, with an implantable medical device such as an endoprosthesis. An endoprosthesis is typically a tubular member that is placed in a lumen in the body. Examples of endoprosthesis include stents, covered stents, and stent-grafts.
Endoprosthesis can be delivered inside the body by a catheter that supports the endoprosthesis in a compacted or reduced-size form as the endoprosthesis is transported to a desired site. Upon reaching the site, the endoprosthesis is expanded, for example, so that it can contact the walls of the lumen.
The expansion mechanism can include forcing the endoprosthesis to expand radially. For example, the expansion mechanism can include the catheter carrying a balloon, which carries a balloon-expandable endoprosthesis. The balloon can be inflated to deform and to fix the expanded endoprosthesis at a predetermined position in contact with the lumen wall. The balloon can then be deflated, and the catheter withdrawn.
In another delivery technique, the endoprosthesis is formed of an elastic material that can be reversibly compacted and expanded, e.g., elastically or through a material phase transition. During introduction into the body, the endoprosthesis is restrained in a compacted condition. Upon reaching the desired implantation site, the restraint is removed, for example, by retracting a restraining device such as an outer sheath, enabling the endoprosthesis to self-expand by its own internal elastic restoring force.
It is sometimes desirable for an implanted medical device such as an endoprosthesis to erode over time within the passageway. For example, a fully erodible endoprosthesis does not remain as a permanent object in the body, which may help the passageway recover to its natural condition. Bio-erodible medical devices can be formed from, e.g., a polymeric material, such as polylactic acid, or from a metallic material, such as magnesium, iron, or an alloy thereof.
It may be desirable for an implanted medical device such as a stent to erode relatively slowly at first, and then to accelerate after a period of time. When used for implantable medical devices, however, magnesium alloys generally erode too quickly.